in turn, the environment began to have an impact on us. nightly newscasts and morning papers are filled with stories about ozone depletion, water and air pollution, and toxic waste in our neighborhoods. while these problems may seem not to affect us personally, we cannot ignore the health hazards that come with living on an interconnected planet. the environment is a crucial factor in the health of each of us. if the environment is not healthy, there is no way we can truly call ourselves healthy. persistent efforts and regulation over the last few decades have greatly reduced environmental pollution. ib: our rivers don't catch on fire anymore. persistent efforts and regulation over the last few decades we don't have big, black plumes in most communities in america. we don't see slicks going down the great lakes. so people believe, because they don't see it, that, somehow, we're in a better state now than we ever were before, and the truth is, that all we've done is cosmetic surgery. we have scraped off the surface and made that look pretty